Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre has once again cemented one of snooker’s most persistent jinxes, as reigning first-time world champion Zhao Xintong of China suffered a 13-10 quarter-final defeat at the hands of England’s Shaun Murphy on Wednesday, falling victim to the infamous ‘Crucible curse’.
Zhao entered the 2025 tournament carrying historic momentum: last year, the 29-year-old became the first snooker player from China to lift the sport’s most prestigious trophy, defeating three-time world champion Mark Williams 18-12 in a landmark final. Yet Wednesday’s defeat extends the curse that has stood unbroken for 48 years: no first-time world champion has successfully defended their title since the tournament relocated to the Crucible in 1977.
The match opened with Zhao storming to an early 3-0 lead over the 43-year-old Murphy, who has not claimed a world crown since his first win 21 years ago. But Murphy fought his way back into the best-of-25-frames contest, leveling the score at 8-8 before pulling ahead with a controlled 98 break. The Englishman closed out the win with a match-clinching 69 break, securing his spot in the tournament’s final four and moving just two wins away from a second world title.
In a post-match interview, Zhao was generous in defeat, acknowledging Murphy’s dominant performance. ‘Shaun played really well, he gave me big pressure and played perfect snooker today,’ Zhao told the BBC. ‘He deserved to win. I felt some pressure as defending champion but I still felt alright. I tried to get better, but Shaun is a good player and he played very well so congratulations to him.’ Murphy, who earlier this week called Zhao ‘the best on the planet’, credited his opponent for raising his own game: ‘When you’re playing great players, which Zhao Xintong unquestionably is, it makes it straightforward for you.’
While Zhao’s campaign has come to an early end, Chinese snooker still retains a strong presence in the semi-finals, thanks to 22-year-old rising star Wu Yize, who secured a 13-8 victory over Iran’s Hossein Vafaei to book his first ever World Championship semi-final berth. Wu will next face Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen in the one-table semi-final setting.
After an early 4-4 split, Wu pulled away from Vafaei with extraordinary consistency, notching 12 breaks of 50 or more and showing incredible potting accuracy that left his opponent stunned. ‘The last session I finally found my rhythm which I’m really happy about,’ Wu said after the win. ‘It’s going to be my first time playing the one-table session so I feel I can do anything now.’ Vafaei, who upset world number one Judd Trump 13-12 in the previous round, compared Wu’s unflappable precision to playing against a video game. ‘The guy was potting from everywhere — I lost four or five frames out of nowhere… It was like playing against a Playstation you know? You are thinking, where can I put the cue ball?’ he said.
In the day’s other quarter-final matches, Scottish veteran John Higgins, a four-time world champion, pulled off a remarkable comeback to defeat 2010 champion Neil Robertson of Australia 13-10, overturning an early 9-6 deficit. The 50-year-old Higgins, who will turn 51 next month, has already pulled off two dramatic comebacks this tournament, having rallied from 9-4 down to beat seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-12 in the previous round. A tricky long red pot in the final frame allowed Higgins to close out the match, booking his semi-final against Murphy.
Allen secured his spot in the semi-finals — his second in four years — with a 13-11 win over Barry Hawkins, capitalizing on a shocking late-match mistake from his opponent. With the match tied and heading for a deciding frame, Hawkins fluked a red ball and had a simple chance to hide the cue ball behind the pink to leave Allen in a difficult position. But Hawkins misjudged his shot entirely, leaving Allen an open opportunity to clinch the win and lock in his place in the final four.